Dalton Roberts

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AUTUMN IN TENNESSEE IS PRICELESS
10-15-04

It sure is good to be in Tennessee in the fall. I have learned to savor it like a kid licking on an all-day sucker. Each year I try to add some new experience to my repository of fall memories.

My son lives in Dallas. He once said, “Dad you have no idea how much you can miss mountains and water.” Many years he would fly to the Smokies just to see the fall colors. He grew up with this beauty we often take for granted but moving to a concrete flatland can put an instant halt to taking it for granted.

It was great news to learn that the Shrine is cranking up the Fall Color Cruise again. It is one of those experiences we should never allow to die. It has become a beloved part of our cultural heritage.

For years I drove to Shellmound to perform or just to enjoy the music and exhibits. One year Dr. Bob Fowler asked me to ride down on his boat and I can now say that is the way to go. Floating down the “Little Grand Canyon of the Tennessee” you have a panoramic view of this gorgeous part of our topography. Add to that the delight of seeing the birds and critters along the river banks.

One of my favorite Redbird Clingan songs is “Autumn’s Lullaby” and I recorded it on my “Porch Picking With Redbird Clingan” CD. I remember when he first sang it for me. I immediately wrote it down and there hasn’t been a fall since when I haven’t enjoyed it as keenly as that first time. Here’s his word picture:

Green grass turning brown

Leaves falling to the ground

Every fall it seems I fall in love

Nature’s beauty is in the trees

Sweet perfume in the breeze

I hear the lonesome call of a turtledove

Another experience we can relish to enhance our Tennessee fall is a scenic short ride on one of the trains at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum. A call to TVRM will bring you the exciting details.

A realization has grown in me with each passing decade that life is really consciousness. I remember Mary Baker Eddy saying something about time being nothing but the belief in finiteness and nothing else. That gave me more ability to appreciate our eternality. Still, there is much to be said for getting inside the bubbles of our precious moments and floating around in wonder. After all, our personal eternity can never be anything but the collected bubbles of our countless prized moments.

Knowing this, each fall I climb into my “fall bubble” and make time to walk through some thick leaves, get the best vantage point to see the trees change colors and collect all the bird nests on my property and along the paths of the places I go to walk, It is a soul-satisfying ritual.

There are three places that particularly feed my spirit. One is the walkway along Lookout Creek at the Chattanooga Nature Center. One year I must canoe down that little stream for a close-up view of the fish and small animals. Another place is the walk at Audubon Acres in East Brainerd, including the new swinging bridge. What a joy this place is to my inner being. The other place is Chickamauga Creek as it flows through the area where I grew up. There’s something about returning to our roots that enhances any season of the year. For me the best season to do that is the fall because my family always gathered at the old home place in the fall, including Thanksgiving dinner.

My way to savor fall may not be your way. Just ask yourself, “What are my favorite fall memories? How can I re-relish them? What fall experiences have I always wanted to enjoy?”